Jibarito de la Cajita, a Puerto Rico project that uses toys, storybooks and art to bring the island’s traditions to different generations, has added plush toys inspired by emblematic foods including pan sobao, mofongo, and pasteles made with yuca and with masa, along with characters tied to Puerto Rican identity. The collection also includes the Estampas Boriqueñas, build-and-paint representations of scenes such as the colmado and the piragüero.
Joel Ocasio, one of the project’s creators, told Sabrosía that the project evolved from the public’s response and families’ interest in passing on their cultural roots. "Hay diferentes puntos de interés," he said, explaining that food and art reach audiences not necessarily drawn to storybooks or traditional plush toys, including people outside Puerto Rico who keep a family tie to those flavors.
The project began in 2020 during the pandemic with the character Jibarito and a storybook; in the first two weeks, orders went to all 50 US states, Ocasio recalled. Other creations include the rooster and Don Coquí with sounds, a cotorra that reproduces 15 Puerto Rican colloquial phrases, and a cucubano with a tail that glows in the dark.
Don Coquí’s story, about a girl named Amapola who moves to the United States and finds the coquí’s sound missing, is available in Spanish and English. Under its Época de Encantos line, new figures include pan sobao, mofongo and bacalaíto. Each creation takes about 18 months to develop, the creative team is Puerto Rican, and some components and manufacturing processes take place off the island, Ocasio said.